The Surrogate
by No-ThisIsAlex
Summary: Ichigo and Renji want to take the next step in their relationship, but they cant do that without a little help from their good friend Rukia. RenjiXIchigo OrihimeXIshida RukiaXHitsugaya My summaries always suck the story is better than the summary i promise.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

I don't really know where this idea came from or how I got it but it's here and i'm putting it up for you to enjoy. there might be spelling errors and maybe a few grammar mistakes, but hey, i'm human. Please read, review and/or leave comments.

**The Surrogate**

**Rukia**

**Prologue **

"Any new messages for me Orihime?" Rukia asked as she nearly ran past the orangette to get into her office so that she could put down the gigantic pile of papers she was holding in her hands.

"Your 11:30 cancelled and you 5:15 wants to move to 5:30." Orihime replied hanging up the phone only to press another button and pick it back up to answer another call. Orihime was busy answering phone with her left hand and scribbling down notes and phone numbers wither right.

"I got you on the cancellation and I'm free for the move," Rukia replied. Rukia was in her office separating the giant pile of papers into neat stacks to be categorized and filed later on. After she was done separating the stack she walked out of her office and leaned against Orihime's desk.

"Oh and Ichigo is on the line asking if your still free for lunch at 12." Orihime said not looking away from the note pad on her desk. It was amazing how this girl could concentrate when she was working but other times you would think that if the wind blew too hard her brain would fly out of her ear like a leaf blowing in the wind.

"Of Course I'm still free, I wouldn't cancel on them like that. We've had this lunch planned for weeks." Rukia replied. Orihime nodded then repeated what Rukia had told her into the phone.

"At the usual spot?" Orihime asked moving the phone away from her face.

"Tell them I'll see them there." Rukia replied.

Rukia wrapped things up at the office before she grabbed her purse and started to leave the office.

"Tell Ichigo and Renji I said Hi!" Orihime yelled after Rukia. Rukia nodded and left the office.

"Ichigo! Hey!" Rukia said throwing her arms open to the orange haired man waiting at the door for her to arrive. She hugged both him and Renji before they went into the restaurant and got a table for the three of them. They got a booth near the back of the restaurant and sat down; Renji and Ichigo were one side and Rukia sat on the other side.

"Where's Orihime?" Ichigo asked.

"Ishida invited her to lunch yesterday," Rukia said.

"So, how have you been?" She asked the two of them.

"Great and you?" Ichigo replied.

"Just fine, but really busy," Rukia said with a sigh.

"So," Renji said with the same crooked smile he always wore when he was about to tease Rukia about something. "No boyfriend yet?"

"I probably wouldn't have the time to keep a relationship even if I was in one." Rukia replied.

"That must be the cost of being the CEO of the biggest real estate company in the entire city." Ichigo replied with a smile. They ordered their food and their drinks and continued to catch up on everything they'd missed in each other's lives in the time that they hadn't seen each other.

"So, Rukia, we uh, wanted to tell you something." Ichigo replied. Just the way that Ichigo was acting told Rukia that it was either very important or something very exciting.

"What?" she asked.

"Um…we decided that we were wanted to raise a child together." Ichigo said with a nervous smile.

"Oh my gosh, that's great! Are you guys going to adopt?" Rukia asked. The two of them stopped and looked at each other then back across the table to where Rukia was waiting for an answer.

"That's something else we wanted to talk to you about," Ichigo said with another nervous smile.

"We want to actually have a child," Renji continued.

"But, naturally that isn't possible, because we aren't built with the right parts." Ichigo said. Rukia sat quietly and looked back and for the between the both of them.

"So in order for us to have a child we would need a female of carry the child." Renji said absently.

"We wanted to know if you would be our surrogate." Ichigo said quickly. His quick decision to cut to the chase caught Rukia completely off guard. She had to listen to the question, process it, and then figure out how she was going to answer their question.

"M-me?" She asked pointing at herself. Ichigo nodded.

"We could have gone to the agency and got matched up with one, but we got wanted this to be…" Ichigo trailed off.

"Personal," Renji finished. "We didn't want a stranger having our baby." He said.

"So…..What do you say?" Ichigo asked.

"….Yeah, I would be honored." Rukia replied with a smile. Ichigo got up and walked around the table to hug Rukia.

"Thank you for this," Ichigo said to her.

"You're welcome." Rukia replied hugging him back.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Surrogate**

**Rukia**

**The Next Day**

"Good Evening Nii-sama," Rukia said as she bowed politely to her brother before taking a seat on the sofa that was across from the large arm chair he was sitting in. Byakuya lowered his newspaper just enough so that he could see over the top at his younger sister.

"Good evening," he replied coolly. "Dinner should be ready any minute." He added. Rukia only nodded silently. After his face was securely hidden behind the newspaper Rukia let her bright smile fall into a deep frown.

God knows she loves her older brother but spending time with him is very boring to word it simply. He spent almost the entire time reading the paper, and when he wasn't reading he was critiquing the business moves that Rukia was thinking about making. He gave her advice she didn't ask for and corrected her posture and the way she ate.

"You aren't sitting up straight; you'll ruin your back sitting that way." Byakuya said not looking away from his food.

_'I don't even get how he can see me slouching if he isn't looking at me.'_ Rukia thought as she straightened up in her seat and continued to eat her food.

After an extremely quiet dinner they went back into the living room and talked more about business and other things that Rukia had no interest in.

"So, nii-sama, how has business been for you?" Rukia asked. Byakuya glanced over at her. It took all of the control in Rukia's body to not get up and walk out of the room. She hated when Byakuya looked at her as if she would never be able to understand the type of business he did, like something was extremely complicated about being a Police officer.

"Everything would run a lot smoother if my lieutenant would concentrate on his work instead of focusing on things that aren't important." Byakuya said. Rukia almost laughed out loud, that sounded just like Renji.

"He can't possibly be that bad." She said to him. Byakuya stared over at her with a plain expression.

"Bringing his personal life and relationships into the office is very inappropriate and it shouldn't be done." Byakuya said.

"Um, speaking of their personal life…." Rukia said as if what she was about to tell him wasn't a big deal.

"What about it?" Byakuya asked stiffly as if she was already dreading whatever Rukia was about to tell him.

"Renji and Ichigo asked me to be their Surrogate." She said simply. The room was so quiet that you could probably hear a rat piss on cotton without even listening that hard. Even the servants stopped what they were doing to look at Rukia.

"No," Byakuya said sternly.

"What?"

"I said No." he repeated.

"What do you mean no?" Rukia asked.

"Rukia I know you're naive but I'm quite sure that you know what the word 'no' means." Byakuya said.

"I know what it means nii-sama I just don't understand what you mean by telling me no." Rukia said.

"I mean that you cannot in anyway be a part of _that_." Byakuya replied. Rukia could feel her chest burning with anger, the only thing she hated more that the cold glances and stares was when he treated her like she was a child instead of a the grown woman she was.

"Well…I'm sorry but you're out of luck." Rukia choked out.

"What are you saying?" Byakuya asked.

"I can't give you what you want this time nii-sama, because I already agreed to it." Rukia declared.

"Then go back and tell him that you've changed your mind." Byakuya replied simply.

"No, I won't do that." Rukia said standing from her seat. "I agreed to this and I'm going to do it. I'm a grown woman and I can make my own decisions." she walked around the sofa and headed towards the door. Byakuya didn't move from his seat, nor did he try to stop Rukia from walking out of the door. As much as he didn't want to admit it she was right, he had to let her make her own decisions even if it looked like a mistake in his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Rukia

One Week Later

Rukia sat in the car outside the doctor's office waiting for Ichigo and Renji to pull into the parking lot. They parked near her car and walked over to where Rukia's car was sitting in the parking lot.

"Are you nervous?" Ichigo asked simply, like nothing here was of real importance.

"Of course," She replied simply. "Who wouldn't be nervous about something like this?"

"Well…I'm not nervous at all." Renji replied.

"You're not the one who's going to be pregnant by the end of all of this." Rukia said rolling her eyes.

The three of them turned and headed in the direction of the building. Rukia pushed her hands into her coat pockets as she tightened the fabric around her body as the cold winter wind started to whip even harder around them; she breathed a silent sigh of relief when they finally got into the warmth of the waiting room. Renji wasn't showing any sign of nervousness, but Ichigo on the other hand was a bumbling nervous mess.

"Um, so how exactly is this going to work?" Rukia asked the doctor. The bald headed man was sitting on the other side of his desk twisting a pen around in his hands, nodding as if Rukia had just asked him a yes or no question.

"Very simple really," He said before he placed the pen down on his desk and started to explain the procedure ahead of them. None of it sounded simple to Rukia, all the different terms and medical words were starting to make her head spin.

"So, um, will it be my egg that being fertilized or…" her voice trailed off.

"That is one option, or you all could opt to select a donated egg from the full stock we have here in our banks." Said the doctor, he grabbed a binder from a drawer on his desk and handed it to Ichigo. He flipped it open and inside were pictures of girls who've donated their eggs to the surrogate's office.

"Her eyes are pretty." Ichigo said as he eyed a picture of an average looking brunette with big hazel eyes.

"I wouldn't want to rick that nose." Renji said after taking a quick glance at the picture. Ichigo shrugged and continued to flip through the pictures in the binder.

"How about her?" Ichigo asked.

"Her nose isn't that big but her skin is horrible." Renji said.

"God, how are we ever gonna come to a decision on this…" Ichigo grumbled.

"Well, it might be easier than you think; you just all have to know what you're looking for." The doctor said. "What are you looking for?" he asked.

"She can't have red hair." Renji said.

"Or orange," Ichigo added.

"Eye color does really matter to me." Renji said.

"But she has to be small," Ichigo said. "I don't want a freakishly tall amazon baby." He added.

"That doesn't even make any sense." Renji said.

"Yeah it does, we're both pretty tall, so if the donor is tall to our kid could come out like a seven foot tall third grader." Ichigo replied.

"There is no logic behind that at all." Renji said.

"Of course not, it's genetics." The doctor pointed out as he flipped through the pictures in the binder until he found what he was looking for.

"How about this one, she's everything you've described." He said as he leaned back against the desk and sat down on top of it.

"I don't like her, her teeth are horrible." Renji said.

"Well, we know who the picky parent is." The doctor said with a small laugh.

"I'm not picky; I just don't want her to have a nose like a duck bill, or a set of teeth like a chainsaw." Renji replied calmly, Ichigo elbowing him in the arm without taking his eyes away from the doctor.

"That's rude." Ichigo said.

"I wasn't trying to be rude; I was just speaking my mind." Renji replied.

"And you mind is rude as hell," Ichigo retorted. Rukia took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for the argument that was about to happen.

"So doctor, is there an advantage to using the surrogate's own eggs instead of those donated?" Rukia asked.

"I don't think that there is an advantage per say, but the margin or error would be probably be a little smaller because the fertilization process is more natural-ish." The doctor replied with a shrug.

"Then, why don't we just use…my eggs." Rukia said softly.

"Are you sure that's okay Rukia…I mean…" Ichigo trailed off.

"Sure it's fine, I'm not using them for anything, so why be selfish with them." she replied.

"This is a big decision, are you sure?" Renji asked showing a bit of nervousness for the first time that day.

"Didn't I already say yes, stop asking me." Rukia told him bluntly.

"I'm just trying to make sure you're completely sure about this and you're not just doing it to please us." Renji replied quickly.

"Isn't that the overall goal of this entire procedure?" Rukia asked. "So that the two of you could be happy with your child?"

"Well yeah it is, but we don't want you to make any rush decisions…and the child…" Renji voice trailed off.

"He or she will be your child. Even if I used my own eggs I don't ever think that I would try to make any claims to the child, because it isn't mine." Rukia said.

"You're a very selfless woman," the doctor said. "All of the donors that come into my office should have the same way of thinking as you do. I think the process would run a lot smoother if some of them weren't so difficult."

"Um…Thank you." Rukia said. "So what happens during the actual procedure again?" she asked.

The doctor went back around to the other side of his desk and sat down. It was one of the things that Rukia didn't like about any person; he was a fidgety person. He moved a lot and didn't stop moving until they'd left his office. Until then he was in and out of his seat walking around the office touching everything imaginable before going back to his deck and putting hand sanitizer on his hands.

He sat down in his seat and started explaining the procedure again.

"And who will be the biological father or the child?" the doctor asked. Ichigo and Renji looked at each other, and then back at the doctor.

"I think you should do it." Ichigo said to Renji, who shook his head at Ichigo.

"You do it," Renji said.

"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked.

"Sure I am, I made up my mind about this a long time ago, and besides it'll be cuter if it has the chance to take after you." Renji said with a smile.

"Are you forgetting where the other half of your child's genetics is coming from?" Rukia asked bitterly. Renji's normal shit eating grin slowly took over his face.

"Sure I do but there's nothing much we can do to change that, we could at least give em a fair chance at some good looks." Renji said before breaking down into uncontrollable laughter. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"You're an ass." She said to Renji.

"Ha, you say that as if that's something I don't know." Renji said.

The procedure went a lot faster than Rukia thought it would. There weren't any oversized needles or crazy madmen doctors trying to slice her open and steal her organs. Before he knew it the 'fertilization' was over and it was just about time for him to leave.

Afterwards going home and taking a nap was the course of action Rukia chose to take. She wasn't exactly tired but something inside her told her that it wasn't a good idea to be up and running errands and things after everything she had went through today.

For once in her life going back to her quiet apartment with no one there to talk to but herself was the perfect environment for her to take a nap in before dinner. As soon as she got into the house she kicked off her shoes and headed straight for the thermostat. She turned the heater off and went to her room, her clothing was discarded on the way there so by the time she reached her room all she was wearing was her bra and underwear. She climbed under the cover and wrapped herself into a cocoon made of covers and pillows.

Rukia peaceful sleep was short lived. Her dreams were cut short by her doorbell ringing loudly, pulling her away from her dreams and back into reality.

"I'm coming," She said sleepily as she stammered around her room trying to find a shirt and a pair of shorts. One she found them she walked over to the door and pull it open to find no other than her very impatient older brother standing in the doorway with his finger still pressed against the doorbell.

"Nice of you to stop by so early in the evening Nii-sama," She said rubbing sleep from her eyes before moving aside to allow him enough room through the door.

"The procedure sure does put a lot of stress on the body doesn't it?" Byakuya asked plainly.

"More than I expected." Rukia answered. Byakuya walked into the living room but didn't sit down. "So, have you come here to yell at me about it, because I was kind of in the middle of a nap?" Rukia said closing the door and turning around to stare at the back of her brother's head.

"I don't think that any amount of yelling would be able to undo what you've done today." Byakuya replied in a dry monotone.

'Same old Byakuya," Rukia thought to herself.

"How was work today?" Rukia asked. Byakuya turned sharply and looked at her.

"I didn't come here for small talk Rukia," he said sternly.

"Then why did you come?" She asked softly, trying her best not to sound disrespectful.

"I don't like this and you know that, but there isn't really much I can do at this point. You could have possibly ruined your entire career and you don't seem to want to acknowledge the fact that you've done so." Byakuya said in a bitter tone.

Rukia was quiet, she didn't think about the effect this could on her career. She wasn't thinking about that at all. The smile on Ichigo face after she agreed to this made everything seem right. In her heart she felt like she was doing the right things, but she knew the rest of the world would have their own opinion, especially in the line of work she was in. a top notch business woman being pregnant and unmarried was enough of a scandal, being pregnant with a baby she planned on giving to a gay couple was an entirely different story all together. There was no way this would fly with the tight assed business men she worked with on a regular basis. The fact that this entire ordeal could affect her career didn't become present in her mind until now.

"This little courtesy of yours could potentially destroy the business you worked nearly your entire life to get off the ground." He said.

"Well, like you said before, there isn't anything we can do about it now. " Rukia replied simply. There really wasn't much either of them could do but sit and wait to see what the outcome would be when it actually presented itself.

"Do you think it'll be worth it?" Byakuya asked.

"Will what be worth it?" Rukia pressed.

"Is their happiness worth you entire career?" he asked.

"I haven't lost my career yet." Rukia replied. "and I don't plan on it." Byakuya nodded.

"I understand your logic behind all of this; you want to help your friends and would stop at anything to see them happy, no matter what the cost." He said absently. He walked over and placed his hand on top of her head. "…just don't forget that you deserve to be happy as well." He said before he stepped around her and out the door.

"I'll see you on Friday for dinner." She said to him.

"Same time as always," He said closing the door behind him. Once the door was close Rukia turned and went back to her room to finish her nap. Talking with her brother wasn't just mentally draining but physically as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Rukia**

Rukia sat in her living room watching Ichigo fidget nervously on the sofa next to her. Renji was sitting on other side of her acting as if his boyfriend's world wasn't completely crumbling around the three of them. The sixteen days they had to wait before they were recommended to take a pregnancy test was really wearing on his sanity. When the times went on all three of their phones Rukia jumped up and practically ran to the bathroom with Ichigo following closely behind her.

Rukia snatched the test from the bathroom counter and hid it away from Ichigo.

"What does it say?" Ichigo asked.

"Give me a chance to read it Ichigo." She said to him. Ichigo rolled his eyes as he waited impatiently for Rukia to figure out what each symbol meant.

"It's positive!" Rukia yelled.

"What!?" Ichigo asked.

"It's positive!" she screamed again.

"Yes!" Ichigo yelled.

"Yes!" Rukia repeated.

"You're gonna have a baby!" Rukia yelled. Ichigo reached out and wrapped the small girl in a warm hug.

Rukia turned and smiled at Renji.

"Oh and before I forget, Byakuya wanted the two of you to attend diner on Friday." Rukia said softly.

"I'm not going!" Renji said raising his hand and walking out of the bathroom.

"You have to come." Rukia whined, following him out the door.

"I do not." He corrected. He went directly to the sofa and laid himself down. Rukia went over and sat down on his stomach.

"I am with child!" she screamed when he started trying to throw her off of him.

"Renji, will you please come?" Rukia asked.

"I get enough of him at work, why do I have to spend my Friday night with him too?" Renji whined. Ichigo walked over and sat down in front of the sofa.

"I think it's a good idea." Ichigo said simply.

"You can go by yourself if you want." Renji suggested; Ichigo frowned.

"You're coming with us," Ichigo replied sternly. Renji looked at him and poked out his bottom lip. "All the pouting faces in the world won't get you out of this, so you might as well give up." He said with a shrug.

"fine." Renji grumbled. "But I'm not sitting next to him."

"Thank you for being such a baby." Ichigo replied with a smile.

"I'm not a baby; you all just don't realize what a pain Byakuya is." Renji said.

"What are you talking about? I grew up with him." Rukia retorted. Renji rolled his eyes again.

"Yeah, but now you've moved out and you only have to see him when you go to dinner on Friday at his house, I have to see him every day _expect_ Friday night but now I have to eat dinner with him." Renji said.

"It won't be that bad I promise." Rukia said with smile.

**Friday**

Rukia could have been more wrong about the promise she made to Renji only two days before. Dinner was way more than that bad. Byakuya spent the entire time staring across the table and Renji and Ichigo and asking them question that no normal person would be thinking about right after they find out they're going to have a child.

"Are you planning on baby proofing your home anytime soon?" Byakuya asked.

"The baby isn't anywhere close to being here yet." Renji mumbled mindlessly. Byakuya looked over at him.

"What was the Abarai?" Byakuya asked.

"He said that our apartment is to unsafe for a child, you know with all the stairs and everything, so we were planning on moving into a more child friendly home." Ichigo said.

"Really?" Rukia asked.

"Yes, we actually settled on a place already, it's really nice too." Ichigo replied.

"So what's it like?" she asked again.

"Three bedrooms and a big backyard," Ichigo said. Rukia smiled.

"Isn't a three bedroom house a bit much?" Byakuya asked.

"Well we thought that is Rukia wanted she could have the extra room." Renji offered.

"Really?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah, you know, there are a lot of stairs in your apartment building, which might be a problem later on." Ichigo said. "So there would be a room with us if you ever needed. It actually isn't that far away from your apartment."

"The address?" Byakuya asked simply. Renji reached into his pocket and grabbed a piece of paper that had the address already scribbled on it. he put it down flat on the table and slid it over to Byakuya.

After dinner Byakuya offered to buy desert which the three politely declined. Dinner with Byakuya only meant more questions that they had to answer.

"See, that wasn't that bad?" Rukia said as she lingered in the driveway in front of Byakuya's house.

"Yeah," Renji said. "It was a lot worse." He added with a frown. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"I promise he won't be that bad next time." Rukia said.

"Next time?" Renji asked.

"Yeah, we're coming back in a couple of weeks to have dinner again" Ichigo said as he walked ahead of the other two to get to the car.

"When did I agree to that?" Renji asked.

"When I told Byakuya we would come about ten minutes before we left." Ichigo replied.

"When did that happen!?

"About 5 minutes after you went to sleep at the dinner table," Rukia answered. Renji laughed.

"Damn, I didn't think anyone noticed." Renji said.

"You were snoring," Rukia said.

"I'm sure you would have been too, he's been telling the same sotry at work all week." He said.

"Well you get to listen to it again when we come back in two weeks." Ichigo said with a smile. "and you better not fall asleep next time." He warned.


	5. Chapter 5

**Rukia**

Stepping back into her office on Monday morning was like jumping headlong into a raging tornado. Orihime was flying back and forth between the phone and her notepad trying to keep up with the heavy steam of calls that were coming into the office. Rukia must have heard her say 'yes sir please hold' at least twenty times before she got to the door of her office. She put her brief case and purse down on her desk them went immediately out to where Orihime was sitting.

She grabbed the notepad and the pen from Orihime and started taking down everything she was saying. After all of the calls had been filtered through and appointments were both added and stricken from the schedule book Orihime placed the phone down and turned in her chair to face Rukia.

"That should be everything for the week." Orihime said to her.

"Is it always this busy Monday morning?" Rukia asked.

"Yes, but usually you aren't here early enough to witness it." Orihime asked.

"This is crazy; I need to get another person in here to help you with this." Rukia said.

"You did." Orihime replied.

"What?" Rukia asked.

"Remember, last month you agreed to start taking interns from the business college not too far from here, they sending over the first two today." Orihime said to him.

"Really, I don't remember that at all." Rukia said as try stepped back and tried to search her mind for the day in question. She vaguely remembered the topic of young interns coming into the office but couldn't recall much else of the subject.

"Do you know what time they're going to be getting here?" Rukia asked. As soon as the end of the sentence left her mouth the elevator door opened and two people walked into the office.

"Good morning, we're the two interns from KU Business College." Said the tallest of the pair, the curvy blonde seemed to be the older of the two, simply because she was the tallest, but her bubbly appearance and loud talked made her seem younger. The second intern a boy of a significant height difference stood behind her staring directly behind Orihime and Rukia to the clock on the wall behind them.

"My name is Rangiku Matsumoto and this is Toshiro Hitsugaya, and we will be here to help with anything you may need." She said with a courteous bow, the boy behind her bowed as well.

"Great!" Orihime said to the both of them as she stood from the chair and went around her desk. "If you would follow me I will give you a tour of the office before showing you to your desks and putting you too work." Orihime gave a small laugh to tell the two that she was joking, but Rangiku was the only one who returned her laugh as the three of them headed down the hallway and out of sight.

"Those two certainly are a pair." Rukia said as she gathered her schedule book from the desk and headed back to her office, closing the door behind her.

**Rangiku Matsumoto**

"Matsumoto, why are you smiling at me like that?" Toshiro asked as he continued to sort a stack of papers into the filing cabinet he was standing in front of.

"What do you mean?" Rangiku replied lamely.

"Playing coy isn't one of your best tricks Matsumoto, try another one." He said to her.

"How did you even know I was looking if your back was facing me?" she asked him.

"I don't need to see you to know when you're goofing around and not doing your work." he replied calmly.

"You're such a buzz kill. Lighten up a little." She said as she grabbed another thick stack of papers from one of the desks in the small room they called their office and started filing along with Toshiro.

"I saw the way you were looking at her." Matsumoto said with a small smile.

"Looking at who?" Toshiro asked.

"The boss," she replied. "You like her don't you?"

"You're a nut Rangiku." Toshiro said to her.

"Aww, you do like her." Matsumoto teased.

"Would it kill you to be professional for once?" Toshiro asked.

"Fine, but that doesn't change the fact that you like her." Rangiku teased again.

"Leave me alone." Toshiro said bluntly. Rangiku laughed then turned her attention back to the file cabinet in front of the two of them.

**Author's note:**

**I know this is really short but I'm going to try and post more, the only thing worse than having writers block is having ideas but not enough time to get them all typed out, I promise there is more to come. Please don't be mad at me guys. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Rukia**

"Are you excited Ichigo?" Rukia asked in a whisper. The waiting room around them was all but empty except for one other couple.

"Nervous is a better word." Ichigo replied as he played with his car keys in an attempt to keep his mind off of what they were there for. Rukia sat back in her chair and looked at Renji who was sitting on the other side of her.

"How about you?" She asked him. Renji smiled confidently and looked over at her.

"Do I look nervous to you?" he asked.

"You're shaking," Rukia replied with a small smile.

"I'm not shaking because I'm nervous….. it's cold in here." He said to her. Rukia laughed.

"Kuchiki," said the clerk at the front desk as she looked down at a clip board that had just been handed to her by someone behind her.

The three of them stood from their seats and followed her back to the room where the rest of their appointment was going to be held. Although she didn't want to admit it Rukia was well past nervous, this appointment would be the first time that she would be able to see the child growing inside of her.

Once they got into the room Rukia went into the little curtained off corner of the room and changed into the little paper gown that was there waiting for her.

"How is everyone doing today?" asked the doctor as she pushed the door open softly and closed it quietly behind her. She stepped into the room and placed a thin file folder down on the counter.

"Everyone is great." Rukia replied with a smile. Unohana pulled a fresh pair of gloves and went over to Rukia's side. They checked everything that needed to be checked then they went on to the ultrasound.

"What's that thing right there?" Renji asked as he pointed at the screen.

"That." Unohana said as she moved the scope around and put it directly above the white spot he was originally pointing at. "Is your baby, congratulations." She added with a smile.

"Are you sure that's it?" Renji asked.

"I'm quite sure; after all, I have been doing this long that you've been alive. I know what I'm talking about." Doctor Unohana said in a tone that sounded more like threat than anything else.

"It doesn't really look like a baby. It looks like a squid." Renji said as he leaned in closer to the screen.

"The child is only a couple a week old; he won't look like what you would recognize as a child for a couple more weeks." Unohana explained.

"I've got a name for him already." Renji said with a smile.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"squishy." Renji replied. Rukia laughed.

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you call my child squishy." Ichigo replied.

"Too late I've already decided." Renji said with a smile.

"No," Ichigo challenged.

"Disagree all you want, squishy will be his name." Renji said still looking at the screen. The little picture on the screen moved

"See he likes it." Renji said with a smile.

"I hate you," Ichigo said in a dark tone.

"Love you too," Renji replied.

"I can't believe this is really happening." Ichigo said mostly to himself as he stared at the little dot on the picture from their ultrasound that would be their new baby in a few months. Ichigo leaned back on the sofa and put his feet up on the coffee table in front of him

"Our little squishy," Renji said. Ichigo rolled his eyes at Renji.

"Stop calling him that." Ichigo said with a sigh.

"What if I don't to?" Renji asked.

"I'm not about to argue with you about this," Ichigo replied with a smile.

"Your smile is telling me another story." Renji said as he leaned over on the couch and let all of his weight fall on Ichigo.

"You know you're too heavy for this." Ichigo said as he crumbled under Renji weight. "Get off, you're crushing me.

"No I'm not, I'm squishing you." Renji replied with a smile.

"You really think your funny don't you?" Ichigo asked, Renji just laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Rangiku**

Rangiku watched as Toshiro Filed paper after paper in the same rhythmic monotone he used when doing any of his other work. He grabbed the paper from the top of the stack, read the name at the top of the paper, opened the drawer, and placed it into the folder. After he was done he reclosed that drawer and started all over again.

"You're really boring, you know that right?" Rangiku said to him with a playful smile. Toshiro only rolled his eyes.

"Why are you just sitting there doing nothing, you could be working too you know." Toshiro replied.

"You see, boring." Rangiku said to him.

"I'm not boring, I'm just doing my job." He said to her.

The door to their little office swung open softly and Orihime peaked inside. Toshiro glanced at the door before hurriedly going back to his work.

"Rangiku! Perfect your still here." Orihime said as she slipped through the small crack in the door and closed it behind her.

"Of course I'm still here. We don't get off until 3 and it's only 1:30" Rangiku replied with a smile.

"Well it's good that you're here, I need your help." Orihime said to her.

"With?" Rangiku asked.

"Planning a party," Orihime replied.

"Oh! A party! Who's it for? What kind of party is it?" Rangiku asked. Orihime waved her hands and tried to hush a shouting Rangiku.

"Shhhh, you have to be quiet. We can let Rukia find out about this." Orihime said in a hushed voice.

"Ohhhh okay, is it her birthday?" Rangiku asked.

"Not yet, but that isn't what the party is for." Orihime said to her.

"Is she getting a promotion or something?" Rangiku pressed. Orihime laughed.

"No, the party is a baby shower." she answered. There was a loud bang from the file cabinet.

"Dammit!" Toshiro hissed as he retracted his hand to take a look at the three fingers he'd slammed in the drawer when he was pushing it closed.

"You alright?" Rangiku asked.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Toshiro said without looking at her. He turned his hand over to look at it palm side up. Three of his fingers (not including the pinky and the thumb) were red all the way around and throbbing in pain.

"How the hell did you manage to do that?" Rangiku asked.

"I told you not to worry about it Rangiku." Toshiro replied bitterly. Rangiku could feel waves of anger flowing off of him. She silently shrugged her shoulders then turned her attention back to Orihime.

"Big baby," she said aloud. "But anyway, when is the party taking place?"

"About 4 months from now." Orihime replied. Rangiku made a face.

"Why are you planning for it so early?" she asked.

"Because I want to make sure everything is perfect…..for everyone." She said.

"Who is everyone?" Rangiku asked.

"Orihime! Do you know where the schedule book went?" yelled a voice from the next room.

"Duty calls, I'll talk to you later Rangiku, and remember its secret." Orihime said as she pressed a finger to her lips before she whipped around and darted out of the room. Rangiku took a small glance back at Toshiro who had immediately gone back to filing papers.

"Is your hand okay?" Rangiku asked.

"My pointer finger is turning purple. I think I might've broken it." Toshiro replied calmly.

"We going to the hospital to get it checked after work?" she asked.

"Yeah I guess so." He replied curtly.

"alright." She said with a nod before she grabbed a stack of papers and started stamping them with a copy of Rukia's signature.

"Why does she stamp her signature on all this, isn't it illegal?" Rangiku asked.

"Maybe, but do you really think she has the tie to go through and sign it all?" he asked.

"Yeah, your right." She said, and then the room got quiet.


End file.
